The World Series of Life

In life no one's a benchwarmer, and other key lessons from baseball.

Once a year, October magic, a.k.a. the World Series,
takes center stage across the United States and the entire country focuses on the American national pastime, Major League Baseball. Even nominal
fans take interest in who will win.

Like most American kids, I grew up with sports as a
major part of my life. And I still enjoy a good game every now and then. But I've
often thought, does it really matter how far a young athlete can use a wooden stick to hit a 95 mile an hour fastball thrown at him? Is it really meaningful if my team wins?

People sometimes live vicariously through their teams.
If my team wins the championship, I won the
championship. Perhaps we 'worship' our heroes on the sporting fields
because it is somehow our way of achieving greatness.

In our own lives, we often settle for mediocrity.
We don't think of ourselves as living heroic lives, nor do we often aspire for true greatness. So we subconsciously live out 'greatness' through our heroes
in the sporting world.

What a mistake. We can all be heroes, each of
us in our own way. We all have a personal World Series
to be won, and we are all in the game -- no one is a benchwarmer.

A few lessons can be gleaned from baseball for the
World Series of Life:

1. Take a few pitches
In order to succeed at just about anything, we need to
get a good view of what we are facing. We can't just
swing away without a clear vision of what the
challenges are. We need to get a good look at the
options and only then decide to hit. We need to
deliberate and reflect before acting.

We shouldn't be hasty when we making decision. First
slow down and scrutinize all the aspects before choosing.

2. Don't get caught looking
On the other hand, it is possible to be too deliberate
and, as a result, let opportunities slip by. In order to succeed, we have to plan appropriately, but at a certain point, we must give it a shot and swing for the fences. As our sages tell us, "Do not allow good deeds to leaven; if the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah comes to your hand, do it immediately."

3. Prepare for the possibility of a curveball
If we're too inflexible, if we're expecting only a high fastball, we
could easily strike out if the pitcher throws a curve. We are not prophets,
we have no idea what will happen to us that is beyond our control.
And if something happens that changes the course of our lives, we have to be willing to adapt. We can't be set in our vision.

Moses taught us this well when he smashed the divine tablets that
God had given him to give to the Jewish people, after he witnessed the worshipping of the golden calf. He had worked extremely hard to receive
those tablets and he viewed them as a crowning accomplishment. Yet, he
changed course when he saw it was necessary.

4. Stretch a single into a double
There are times when we succeed, but with a little more effort,
we can go even further. We finish a short study session and start relaxing when really we could try to study a bit more.

The story of the Talmudic sage, Rabbi Akiva, comes to mind. He started studying Torah at age 40 and became the Torah leader of the entire Jewish nation. Many of us would have been happy just to learn how to read the prayers in Hebrew but Rabbi Akiva wouldn't stop at first base. He went on to hit many thousands of home runs.

"Every person is fit to be as righteous as Moses, our
Teacher" (Maimonides, Laws of Repentance 5:2).

God doesn't expect everyone to perform superhuman
feats as Moses did, but He does anticipate that all
people reach their own personal potentials.

If we live our lives properly and maximize our personal potential,
we can be as righteous as Moses.

We all have a World Series to win. In fact, it's always a Game 7 and our team
is down by a run in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and two outs.

"A person should always view himself as if he is equally balanced -- half culpable and half worthy. If he does one mitzvah, one meritorious deed, he is fortunate, for he has tilted the scale for himself toward good. If he commits one transgression, woe to him, for he has tilted the scale for himself toward evil...

Further, a person should always view the world as if it is equally balanced, half culpable and half worthy. The world is judged based on the majority. If an individual does one mitzvah, he tilts the global scale toward good. If he transgresses, the global scale is moved toward evil" (Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 40b).

There are many lessons we can learn from baseball. Care to offer a few more in the Reader's Comments?

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About the Author

Rabbi Boruch Leff is a vice-principal at Torah Institute in Baltimore. "Are You Growing?" (Feldheim), his just released book, is a must read if you want to grow spiritually. Click here for info on the book.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 11

(11)
Baruch,
November 25, 2012 7:48 PM

Another lesson

Batting .300 is considered hitting excellence. Imagine that! You fail 70% of the time but you are considered among the elite players in the game. We certainly don't have to bat 1.000 in the game of life, but striving to succeed 8 or 9 out of ten mitzvah opportunities is certainly a gold standard. We all have to face curveballs and even a knuckleball from time to time. Emphasizing our achievements will bring more happiness than dwelling on our failures.

(10)
Davidthe"Bagel",
October 31, 2006 3:30 PM

baseball and torah analogies....

Very nice article, Rabbi Leff. I very much enjoy your writing. To continue in the theme of this article, one idea that can also be discussed is the importance of working as a team instead of just individually. Championships are won by teams, not individual players. So too, more mitzvos can be done when you help someone else. For example: joining a minyan vs. davening alone. etc...

Another thing I would maybe add to it is that even when mistakes are made ("strikes" or "outs"), there is still the possibility for redemption ("hits" and "runs"); ie: Teshuva. We were given the ability and opportunity to do teshuva for our mistaken or misguided actions.

Oh, one more analogy. Even though sports teams have set season schedules, the better players tend to work out all year round to stay in top shape. They often perform at very high levels during the season because they are always trying to improve. So too, the Torah requires us to "stay in shape" all year round. By being diligent in this regard every single day, we can improve ourselves considerably. Hey, you could make this into a good Drasha for Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur!

(9)
Anonymous,
October 30, 2006 1:24 PM

Baseball and Torah

As a fellow fan, I enjoyed your piece. Midrashim based on baseball are endless in possibilities. As Torah is Life, and baseball is life, Baseball is Torah! This is so, as athletic excellence requires not merely the physical, but also the mental and the spiritual acting harmoniously. This is proven by the phenomenon in sports of momentum in a game, which is a function of the spiritual state of the players as individuals and as a team. I am reminded of the Ten Spies. They broke down in the pennant race and did not get to the playoffs. So, football and basketball season is ahead of us....

(8)
Dave,
October 30, 2006 12:57 PM

Even When You Strike Out. . .

You need to get ready for your next at bat. We are allowed to make mistakes and shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. We can and will redeem our failures with successes.

(7)
MaddyMalek,
October 29, 2006 4:40 PM

Great article

Rabbi Leff always knows how to catch my eye with his informative and interesting articles.Thanks for sharing those thoughts with the readers. Keep up the good work!

(6)
Malca,
October 29, 2006 4:13 PM

Great

I agree with every word.

(5)
Phyllis,
October 29, 2006 2:56 PM

Home run!

As a lifelong baseball fan and an observant Jew, I got a smile from this article - and a few life lessons too.

(4)
Janet,
October 29, 2006 1:07 PM

cheer for your team

Say encouraging words. Be happy for someone else's success and boost them up when they need it. And be a good sport. It's not ultmately about winning or losing but about how you play the game.

(3)
Anonymous,
October 29, 2006 1:00 PM

batting .300

Batting .300 is pretty good in baseball. That means you mess up 7 times out of 10, and even those 3 times out of 10 don't have to be a homerun to count. Opportunities arise. We do what we can. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes maybe it doesn't seem so good. But it's okay. HaShem is watching our reactions to the strikeouts and He'll give us another chance at bat. All we can do is walk up to the plate and try to hit the ball with all the gifts we've been given.And in the field --- we try to catch the ball and field it properly. We encourage our teammates. They encourage us. Sometimes we mess up. Sometimes we succeed. But we keep playing. We're in the game and we know the rules.

(2)
LeeRaubvogel,
October 29, 2006 12:37 PM

Play ball......

1) The Hall of Fame position player fails about 70% of the time while at bat. (You will not always succeed, or at least not all of the time.)2) Sometimes you have to wait your turn. (You may enter the game later, or have a different role to play.)3) You don't have to hit the ball 700 feet. 400 feet is enough! (Don't try to overachieve. Don't over do it!)4) Sometimes you need to be able to rely on other people in order to succeed. (There is no "I" in the word team. Success can be had with the help of others.)5) You need to get to first base before you can get to any other base. (Sometimes you have to do some things in a particular way in order to be successful.)6) Take the pitcher out to save his stuff for his next appearance. (You have to keep the right pace, and not wear yourself out.)7) The guy who hits 500 home runs still has to take out the trash when he gets home. (So does the Rabbi!) .....I think I'll stop here!

(1)
GretchenSerota,M.D.,
October 29, 2006 11:20 AM

Superb analogy!!

It is fine to use sports figures (or actors, or musicians or scientists - to name a few) as a inspiration to strive for personal greatness. Role models, even if we don't personally know them, can have a positive influence on our lives. However, it is an increasingly common mistake to use the accomplishments of our heroes as a surrogate for individual effort. Perhaps this, in part, is a consequence of commercialism. I doubt that everyone who wears a Harvard or Yale t-shirt has actually studied there, or even knows some one that has.

I’m wondering what happened to the House of David. After the end of the Kingdom of Judah was there any memory what happened to King David’s descendants? Is there any family today which can trace its lineage to David – and whom the Messiah might descend from?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Thank you for your good question. There is no question that King David’s descendants are alive today. God promised David through Nathan the Prophet that the monarchy would never depart from his family (II Samuel 7:16). The prophets likewise foretell the ultimate coming of the Messiah, descendant of David, the “branch which will extend from the trunk of Jesse,” who will restore the Davidic dynasty and Israel’s sovereignty (Isaiah 11:1, see also Jeremiah 33:15, Ezekiel 37:25).

King David’s initial dynasty came to an end with the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian Exile. In an earlier expulsion King Jehoiachin was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar, together with his family and several thousand of the Torah scholars and higher classes (II Kings 24:14-16). Eleven years later the Temple was destroyed. The final king of Judah, Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah, was too exiled to Babylonia. He was blinded and his children were executed (II Kings 25:7).

However, Jehoiachin and his descendants did survive in exile. Babylonian cuneiform records actually attest to Jehoiachin and his family receiving food rations from the government. I Chronicles 3:17:24 likewise lists several generations of his descendants (either 9 or 15 generations, depending on the precise interpretation of the verses), which would have extended well into the Second Temple era. (One was the notable Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, who was one of the leaders of the return to Zion and the construction the Second Temple.)

In Babylonia, the leader of the Jewish community was known as the Reish Galuta (Aramaic for “head of the exile,” called the Exilarch in English). This was a hereditary position recognized by the Babylonian government. Its bearer was generally quite wealthy and powerful, well-connected to the government and wielding much authority over Babylonian Jewry.

According to Jewish tradition, the Exilarch was a direct descendant of Jehoiachin. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 5a) understands Genesis 49:10 – Jacob’s blessing to Judah that “the staff would not be removed from Judah” – as a reference to the Exilarchs in Babylonia, “who would chastise Israel with the staff,” i.e., who exercised temporal authority over the Jewish community. It stands to reason that these descendants of Judah were descendants of David’s house, who would have naturally been the leaders of the Babylonian community, in fulfillment of God’s promise to David that authority would always rest in his descendants.

There is also a chronological work, Seder Olam Zutta (an anonymous text from the early Middle Ages), which lists 39 generations of Exilarchs beginning with Jehoiachin. One of the commentators to Chronicles, the Vilna Gaon, states that the first one was Elionai of I Chronicles 3:23.

The position of Exilarch lasted for many centuries. The Reish Galuta is mentioned quite often in the Talmud. As can be expected, some were quite learned themselves, some deferred to the rabbis for religious matters, while some, especially in the later years, fought them and their authority tooth and nail.

Exilarchs existed well into the Middle Ages, throughout the period of the early medieval scholars known as the Gaonim. The last ones known to history was Hezekiah, who was killed in 1040 by the Babylonian authorities, although he was believed to have had sons who escaped to Iberia. There are likewise later historical references to descendants of the Exilarchs, especially in northern Spain (Catelonia) and southern France (Provence).

Beyond that, there is no concrete evidence as to the whereabouts of King David’s descendants. Supposedly, the great French medieval sage Rashi (R. Shlomo Yitzchaki) traced his lineage to King David, although on a maternal line. (In addition, Rashi himself had only daughters.) The same is said of Rabbi Yehuda Loewe of Prague (the Maharal). Since Ashkenazi Jews are so interrelated, this is a tradition, however dubious today, shared by many Ashkenazi Jews.

In any event, we do not need be concerned today how the Messiah son of David will be identified. He will be a prophet, second only to Moses. God Himself will select him and appoint him to his task. And he himself, with his Divine inspiration, will resolve all other matters of Jewish lineage (Maimonides Hilchot Melachim 12:3).

Yahrtzeit of Kalonymus Z. Wissotzky, a famous Russian Jewish philanthropist who died in 1904. Wissotzky once owned the tea concession for the Czar's entire military operation. Since the Czar's soldiers numbered in the millions and tea drinking was a daily Russian custom, this concession made Wissotzky very rich. One day, Wissotzky was approached by the World Zionist Organization to begin a tea business in Israel. He laughed at this preposterous idea: the market was small, the Turkish bureaucracy was strict, and tea leaves from India were too costly to import. Jewish leaders persisted, and Wissotzky started a small tea company in Israel. After his death, the tea company passed to his heirs. Then in 1917, the communists swept to power in Russia, seizing all of the Wissotzky company's assets. The only business left in their possession was the small tea company in Israel. The family fled Russia, built the Israeli business, and today Wissotzky is a leading brand of tea in Israel, with exports to countries worldwide -- including Russia.

Building by youth may be destructive, while when elders dismantle, it is constructive (Nedarim 40a).

It seems paradoxical, but it is true. We make the most important decisions of our lives when we are young and inexperienced, and our maximum wisdom comes at an age when our lives are essentially behind us, and no decisions of great moment remain to be made.

While the solution to this mystery eludes us, the facts are evident, and we would be wise to adapt to them. When we are young and inexperienced, we can ask our elders for their opinion and then benefit from their wisdom. When their advice does not coincide with what we think is best, we would do ourselves a great service if we deferred to their counsel.

It may not be popular to champion this concept. Although we have emerged from the era of the `60s, when accepting the opinion of anyone over thirty was anathema, the attitude of dismissing older people as antiquated and obsolete has-beens who lack the omniscience of computerized intelligence still lingers on.

Those who refuse to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. We would do well to swallow our youthful pride and benefit from the teachings of the school of experience.

Today I shall...

seek advice from my elders and give more serious consideration to deferring to their advice when it conflicts with my desires.

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